[N]ational Coffee Day is here once again! While this holiday doesn’t bring about bank closures or days off of work, it is a day worth celebrating. Cafés and roasteries all around the country celebrate September 29 with deals, discounts, specials, and freebies. But discounts and deals aren’t the only way to celebrate National Coffee Day; it’s also a great day to promote your company’s social good, launch a new product or giveaway, encourage downloads of a new app, or increase engagement on social media. Customers love you for your coffee, but why not give them an extra reason to come back?
Promoting Social Good
National Coffee Day is a great opportunity for a company to “put its money where its mouth is,” so to speak, outwardly and openly supporting causes that matter. Santa Cruz, California’s Verve Coffee is doing just that, donating 5 percent of pour-over and quick cup coffees in store and 5 percent off of whole bean coffee online on September 29 to World Coffee Research.
Le Pain Quotidien’s 99 shops nationwide will be doing their part to fight climate change by encouraging their customers to bring their own mug: those who bring their own reusable mugs will receive a complimentary cup of coffee.
Launching New Products
Taking advantage of the “buzz” of the day, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based QuickChek is celebrating National Coffee Day by encouraging downloads of and orders on their new mobile app. First-time users of the app (available on the App Store or online at quickchek.com) can get a free hot or iced coffee in any size.
Keurig is launching their Average Joe Sweepstakes: If your name is a variation of “Joe” and you were born on September 29, you have a chance to win a new Keurig K-Duo Brewer and a free year of coffee.
Intelligentsia Coffee is using National Coffee Day to help promote trial of their instant coffee (made in collaboration with Sudden): all guests will receive a free instant coffee with the purchase of $10 or more.
Atlas Coffee Club, a coffee-of-the-month club that curates micro-lot coffees from around the world, is promoting its coffee subscription service by offering new customers their first full-size bag of coffee for just the cost of shipping.
“This promotion helps us increase subscribers—people love a little something for free—and they stay on once they realize that our subscription can help them turn their morning routine into a daily adventure,” says Atlas Coffee Club co-owner and executive creative director Jordan Rosenacker.
Increasing Engagement
Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea (locations in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles) is running a contest on social media through September 29. Fairgrounds fans can enter to win free coffee for an entire year by following @OurFairgounds on Instagram, liking the contest posts, and tagging five coffee-loving friends.
Discounts & Deals
Celebrating these fun food-focused holidays are a creative way to get new people into your shop, and to bring customers back after a while—some cafés look forward to the day they offer a buy one, get one free promo.
“Our favorite day of the year is upon us and there is no better way to celebrate National Coffee Day than by inviting our customers to bring family or friends to try one of our lattes,” says Las Vegas’ Daniel’s Coffee & More owner Daniel Kermani.
San Diego’s Common Room Roasters is celebrating National Coffee Day by offering $1 flat whites in-store (honoring their Melbourne roots) and 25 percent off all merchandise (including beans) online.
“We think specialty, high-quality coffee is something that should be celebrated and enjoyed commonly by all, which is why we wanted to use [National Coffee Day] to offer a discount on online orders as well,” says Ed Moffatt, head roaster and co-owner of Common Room Roasters.
No matter what you decide to do, your customers will appreciate your extra effort this National Coffee Day.
More Deals
We’ve collected a few more of our favorite deals and freebies below. Promotions are subject to change; please call ahead to confirm.
Share your deals with Fresh Cup using #NationalCoffeeDay on all social media channels.
- New York City-based coffee chain Birch Coffee will be serving any coffee drink complimentary with the purchase of a thermos. Debuting on the holiday, thermoses will be available in 12-ounce ($28) or 16-ounce ($40) sizes. The offer will be available on September 29 during business hours (8 a.m.–8 p.m.).
- Goldfinch at The Time New York will be offering complimentary Stumptown coffee and cold-brew shots from the shop’s keg. The offer will be available during business hours (7 a.m.–5 p.m.).
- Café Collective, a coffeehouse and co-working space in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is offering customers a free cup of coffee with the purchase of any other item.
- PJ’s Coffee is offering a free 12-ounce Viennese Blend coffee, a 100 percent direct trade product featuring coffee from Agua Fresca in Nicaragua and Finca Terrerito in Honduras.
- Firefighter-owned and operated Rough Shift Roasters is offering a buy one, get one 50 percent off discount on bags of coffee.
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Circle House Coffee is offering a free small latte or drip coffee with any purchase of $5 on National Coffee Day.
- All 219 Scooter’s Coffee locations in fourteen states are offering a free small brewed coffee for customers, no strings attached.
- Cafés in New York’s Grand Central Terminal are offering discounts on coffee: Café Grumpy is offering $0.25 off, Joe Coffee Company is offering 20 percent off one beverage, Tartinery is offering $2 coffee, and Oren’s Daily Roast is offering $1 off a pound of whole bean coffee.
- XO Espresso Bar at the Lincoln Eatery in Miami Beach, Florida, is offering a buy one coffee drink, get the second one free deal to anyone who mentions “for the love of coffee.” Offer good on all sizes, flavors, and temperatures.
-Rachel Sandstrom Morrison is a Portland-based freelance writer and public relations manager.
